Bracket for sawhorse



Nov. 20, 1962 J. FINIZZA BRACKET FOR SAWHORSE Filed May 11. 1960 FIG. 2.

FIG. 5.

Wu any. .nunm mm.

/ JOSEPH Fl/V/ZZA INVENTOR.

ATTRNEY Unite States 3,064,756 BRACKET FOR SAWHORSE Joseph Finizza, 24 Stanton St., Worcester, Mass. Filed May 11, 1960, Ser. No. 28,280 1 Claim. (Cl. 182-181) This invention relates to a bracket for a sawhorse and more particularly to apparatus arranged to hold the rail and legs of a sawhorse in a fixed relationship.

Although a sawhorse is a necessary tool in carpentry work, its chief disadvantage is that it occupies a great deal of space during transportation; hence, it is very difficult to carry a sawhorse in the trunk of an automobile and, when it is considered that at least two sawhorses are necessary in the usual situation, the problem is multiplied. Although collapsible sawhorses have been conceived in the past, most of them have had a number of defects. In general, they have been expensive, dilficult to use, and somewhat less than rugged. Furthermore, rough treatment of the parts of the sawhorses used in the past, has deformed them so that it is difficult, if not impossible, to assemble the sawhorse-in the proper geometric relationship. These and other difliculties experienced in the past with prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a bracket for a sawhorse which is simple to use and inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a collapsible sawhorse in which the parts are readily assembled and disassembled.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a sawhorse bracket whose parts are capable of considerable abuse without being deformed and without rendering the sawhorse difi'icult to assemble.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a sawhorse bracket in which the parts are arranged to give an exact geometric relationship.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a sawhorse bracket which is rugged in construction and which is capable of a long life of useful service with a minimum of maintenance.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claim appended hereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structural forms as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sawhorse making use of the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the invention taken on the line IIH of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the bracket of the invention taken on the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the bracket of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the bracket.

Referring first to FIG. 1, wherein are best shown the general features of the invention, the bracket, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown in use .with a sawhorse 11 having a rail 12 and legs 13 and 14.

FIG. 1, of course, shows only one end of the sawhorse, but it will be understood that a duplicate end will be attached to this to provide four legs and an elongated rail, as is usual in sawhorse construction. The rail 12 would be made of wood and would usually be two inches thick and four inches wide; each of the legs 13 and 14 is also formed of wood and is of the standard stock size of one inch by four inches. The length of the rail and the length of the legs will be such as will satisfy the individual user.

3,064,758 Patented Nov. 20, 1962 As is evident in FIG. 2, the bracket 10 consists of a flat plate 15 which is rectangular in form and which is approximately the same width as the rail 12. The plate is attached to the rail by means of nails 16. Each of these nails is provided with a large, round head for a purpose to be described more fully hereinafter. Extending through the plate is a carriage bolt 17. This bolt has an enlarged head which lies between the plate 15 and the rail 12 in a shallow depression formed therein. The bracket 10 also is provided with a junction member 18 which is formed of sheet metal and is generally an inverted U- shape with an intermediate bight 19 and two arms 21 and 22. The bight 19 is flat and so are the arms 21 and 22, but the arms extend at substantially equal angles to the bight and are fastened to the legs 13 and 14. The bracket 10 is also provided with a web member 23 consisting of a trapezoidally-shaped intermediate portion 24 and two flanges 25 and 26 bent at right angles to the sloping side of the intermediate portion. The web member and the junction member are held together and are fastened to the legs 13 and 14 by means of nails 27.

In FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, which show the elements of the bracket 10, it can be seen that the plate 15, the junction member 18, and the web member 23 are suitably provided with apertures for fastening to the rail and legs and to one another. In FIG. 3 it is clear that the plate 15 is provided with apertures 28 and 29 to receive the carriage bolts 17. It should be noted that the head of the carriage bolt would preferably be tack-welded to the plate. Furthermore, apertures 31 are spaced around the apertures 28 and 29 to receive the nails 16. The leg 21 of the junction member 18 is provided with four apertures 32 to receive the nails 27, and similar apertures 33 are provided on the leg 22 of the junction member. Suitable apertures 34 of the web member 23 match similar apertures 32 in the leg 22 of the junction member 18. In the same way apertures 35 and '36 of the web member 23 match with the corresponding apertures 33 in the arm 22 of the junction member 18. In the preferred embodiment, the junction member 18 and the web member 23 are tack-welded together to form a unitary structure. Each carriage bolt 17 is provided at its threaded outer end with a wing nut 36. The bight 19 of the junction member 18 is provided with apertures 37 which underlie and match with the apertures 28 and 29 in the plate 15 and to receive the carriage bolts 17.

The operation of the invention will now be readily understood in view of the above description. The plate 15 is fastened to the under surface of one end of the rail 12 by means of nails 16, these nails having enlarged, rounded heads which contact the bight 19 of the junction member 18. The carriage bolt 17 extends through the apertures 28 and 29 in the plate 15 and through the apertures 37 in the bight 19 of the junction member 18. The wing nuts 36 are applied to the carriage bolt 17 and are drawn up tightly to join the rail to the junction member. Because of the fact that the nails 16 with their rounded heads are spaced a considerable distance outwardly of the carriage bolts 17, there is a strong resilient bending of the bight 19 between the heads of the nails 16 produced by the carriage bolts 17 and the wing nut 36. Nails 27 are driven through the apertures 32 of the arm 21 of the junction member 18 and through the apertures 34 in the flange 25 of the web member 23 into the wood of the leg 13. In a similar manner nails 27 are driven through the apertures 35 in the flange 26 of the web member 23 and through the apertures 33 of the arm 22 of the junction member 18 into the wood of the leg 14. The nails are preferably of the type having a self-clinching or holding surface.

It can be seen that the use of the enlarged heads on the nails 16 provide for accurate placement of the rail on the junction member 18 and that the inherent spring in the bight 19 provides for a tight vibration-free connection be tween the two, particularly when the wing nut 36 is drawn up tightly. Also, the provision of two carriage bolts 17 with the associated apertures assures that there will be no twisting of the legs 13 and 14 relative to the rail 12. The web member 23 provides a strong box-like construction in combination wtih the junction member 18 and yet provides an open end for access to the wing nuts. By removing the wing nuts the sawhorse may be disassembled. The trail will retain its two plates 15 and two sets of legs, each pair of legs having a junction member 18 and a web member 23. The wing nuts 36 will be replaced on the carriage bolts 17 to prevent loss.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

A bracket for use with the rail and legs of a sawhorse, comprising a flat plate adapted to be fastened to the under side of one end of the rail, nails extending through the plate into the rail, the nails having enlarged rounded heads extending below said plate, a junction member having a fiat bight and two dependent arms extending angularly therefrom adapted to have the legs attached thereto, and a web member having a trapezoidal intermediate portion adapted to connect the two arms of the junction member, the web member having flanges extending at right angles to the plane of the intermediate portion and overlying the arms of the junction member, the nail heads contacting the said bight at spaced points, two spaced bolts extending from the plate through the bight located between the nail heads for connecting the plate to the bight of the junction member, and a large wing nut associated with each bolt, the bolts and nuts serving to deflect the bight of the junction member between the nails to provide a resilient locking action.

References Cited in-the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS France May 27, 1957 

